The Mission and Vision of the Land Court
The mission of the Land Court is to provide equitable access to land justice by adjudicating land disputes, addressing historical land injustices, promoting land reform through a specialised court system, aiming to achieve a vision of fair and equitable land distribution across the country and ensuring all citizens can access land on a non-discriminatory basis
Key points about the Land Court's mission and vision:
- Focus on land reform:
The Court prioritises resolving land claims and disputes arising from past discriminatory land practices aiming to rectify historical injustices. - Accessible justice:
The Land Court strives to provide accessible legal processes for all citizens to resolve land issues. - Specialised expertise: The Court is designed with judges having specialised knowledge in land law to effectively handle complex land matters.
- Equitable distribution:
The vision aims for a fair distribution of land across South Africa, addressing inequalities in land ownership.
History
The Land Court is a court of law and equity. It was established in terms of section 3 of the Land Court Act 6 of 2023. The Act came into effect on 5 April 2024 and abolishes and replaces the Land Claims Court which was established in 1996 by section 22 of the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994.
The Land Court specialises in dealing with disputes that arise out of laws that underpin South Africa's land reform initiative. These include the Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994, the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act 3 of 1996 and the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997.
The Land Court is a Superior Court that has authority, inherent power and standing in relation to matters under its jurisdiction equal to that which a Division of the High Court of South Africa has in terms of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013.
It is a Court of record and all hearings in the Court must, except in so far as the Court may in special cases direct otherwise, be conducted in an open court.
Any appeal against a decision of the Court of first instance lies, upon leave having been granted if the Court consisted of a single Judge, either to the Supreme Court of Appeal or to a Full Court.
If the Court consists of more than one Judge, to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
An appeal against any decision of a Full Court on appeal to it, lies to the Supreme Court of Appeal upon special leave having been granted by the Supreme Court of Appeal. An appeal may be made directly to the Constitutional Court.
The Land Court can hold hearings in any part of the country if this will make it more accessible and it can conduct its proceedings in an informal way if this is appropriate, although its main seat in terms of Section 6 of the Land Court Act 6 of 2023 is in Johannesburg, South Africa.